NCAA Division I Baseball: our picks for each Regional

You know what they say: opinions are like… an insalubrious body part; everybody has one and they generally stink. Generally, I would agree with that statement wholeheartedly. But sometimes, to paraphrase Nolan Ryan, you just have to grab ahold of the situation.

Writing as a profession is often a lonely business. It is difficult to know if you are really connecting with anyone or not. Oh, sure, in the digital age we have analytics to tell us if anyone is clicking on a page and how long they stay on that page, but it is not the same as having a conversation.

During my playing days, sitting in the dugout talking to the guys about the other team was the best part: what pitch we are likely to see, check out the way this guy shades you off second, did you see the way he closes his eyes when he swings?

Camaraderie was created and we could discuss baseball, often in heated disagreement, and yet feel closer to each other than to anyone else on the planet. Now that I am old and fat, and my playing days are long behind me, that camaraderie is what I miss most.

So, I offer you here my picks for each of the regional brackets. I will try and give my reasoning behind each pick and hope that you, the reader, can see where I am coming from. Perhaps you disagree. If so, let me know! And please provide your reasoning. I’ll promise to keep an open mind.

Knoxville Regional

I think that I won’t have to struggle too hard to convince many people of my reasoning here: I’m going with the national number one, Tennessee. Their bats have been hot and they have outscored opponents, often by laughable margins, this season, but the real reason to sit with them is their pitching staff. With the lowest team ERA in the SEC, they have a full complement of weapons on the mound, including a fireballer in Ben Joyce, who set the NCAA record with a 105.5 MPH pitch this season.

Stanford Regional

This regional might surprise you in that it is not as easy to pick as it may first appear. Gut reaction say go with Stanford, but Texas State have been slaying giants all season, handing the Longhorns their hats in San Marcos as well as taking Arkansas apart. They have just enough spark to keep this one close, but I think that I will still plump for the Stanford Cardinal, although in an extremely tight race.

Corvallis Regional

This is another one that might be closer than you would think, but I am going with Oregon State to pull this one out of the bag. Vanderbilt have been to the big show more than most and their experience keeps this race tight, but they have struggled on offense all season, and despite a late slide by the Beavers, I think that the Pac-12 tournament showed that they can steady their nerves for the big games.

Blacksburg Regional

I wavered on this one, very nearly picking Gonzaga to upset the apple cart, but their strength of schedule, or lack of it, sways it for me, and I see Virginia Tech taking this regional. The Hokies have been building an outstanding team in the ACC and to have the kind of season that they had in one of the toughest conferences in the country, I can’t see them dropping this regional, no matter how encouraging Gonzaga looks.

College Station Regional

This is perhaps the toughest all-around regional, with the exception perhaps of the Auburn regional. All of these teams are just about as good as each other, with TCU capable of upending A&M on any given day. The Ragin Cajuns went 5-0 down in the Sun Belt final and managed to pull it back, riding the arm of Jacob Schultz, who threw 142 pitches and looked to be warming into the game as it went on. The Aggies are my pick, based entirely on their strength of schedule this season, but I feel shaky on this one.

Coral Gables Regional

For me, this is the first one that will have a real upset in the making. The Ole Miss Rebels are my pick to take this regional. Miami have looked wobbly for a good part of the season, and their ACC opposition has counted for a lot in their ranking. But with only Arizona and Canisius in their way, Ole Miss are too strong to be denied. Having held the national number one spot for a couple weeks in mid-season, the Rebels went through a rough patch, but did some good things at the back end of May, sweeping Missouri and LSU away.

Stillwater Regional

With Oklahoma State sweeping Texas and taking the closing series off Baylor, this would seem like a no-brainer. But they also were swept by Texas Tech and dropped the series to TCU in the last month as well, so you start to wonder. I feel that the saving grace for the Cowboys is the state of play for Arkansas. The Razorbacks look like a rudderless ship at the moment, a wounded animal that can still hurt you but is basically ready to be handled. I feel that Oklahoma State will not so much win it as much as Arkansas will lose it. The Cowboys, but through none of their own doing.

Greenville Regional

This regional is the yang to College Station’s yin: polar opposites. Perhaps the weakest overall regional competition in the country, this is almost a dealer’s choice. Virginia should walk this group, but with the way that they have finished up the regular season, I don’t feel confident at all putting money on them. Of the four, the most impressive play has come from Coastal Carolina and for that reason alone, I will pick them to pull off the upset and take the bracket.

Austin Regional

With the early showing at the Shriners Children’s College Classic, the Longhorns looked to be the best team in the country. Granted, a lot has happened since then. Tennessee came blowing onto the scene like a hurricane and Texas groped helplessly through April, losing games that should have been a piece of cake for them. They still have some formidable weapons in the Hispanic Titanic, Ivan Melendez, and catcher Silas Ardoin, plus their pitching staff has started to grow into their shoes. Overall, the Texas Longhorns will be a notch above the rest in their group.

Chapel Hill Regional

This one is an easy call, North Carolina all day long and twice on Sundays. It basically comes down to the age-old battle of ACC vs SEC. Both strong conferences, surviving either is a feat in and of itself. But while Georgia survived the SEC, the Tarheels thrashed the opposition in the ACC. While VCU and Hofstra put up good numbers this season respectively, the quality of North Carolina stands head and shoulders above the opposition in this regional.

Hattiesburg Regional

This one is another upset, although it won’t come as a surprise to many. I think LSU takes this bracket. Southern Miss shocked Ole Miss twice this season, even as the Tigers were swept by the Rebels, but that is comparing apples and oranges. Southern Miss have only got a certain number of surprises in them and the depth and power of the LSU batting order is going to make this one a one-sided race.

Louisville Regional

Each of these teams share elements that tilt the table toward them, with up and down seasons and weak regular season finishes, but the Michigan Wolverines are coming off of a decent run in the Big Ten tournament. For that reason alone, I am going to call for the upset here, with Michigan taking the bracket. Simply the momentum that they are carrying into this regional should lift them over an Oregon and Louisville side, who each had better seasons but tanked out of their respective conference tournaments.

Gainesville Regional

This is powerhouse baseball at its finest, with two solid contenders in the group. Central Michigan an Liberty have held their own this season, but the storyline here is all Florida vs Oklahoma. Both teams have put together season-ending win streaks, with Oklahoma taking the Big 12 championship. With the Sooners set to move to the SEC in 2025, their star on the national level could just be on the rise. Florida is solid enough to make the College World Series but I see Oklahoma stringing together a run of wins here and winning this bracket.

Auburn Regional

This is one of the two most competitive brackets in the tournament at the moment, and the only Cinderella story of the four is Southeastern Louisiana. The Lions have had an impressive run against bigger programs, but when they are swimming with Auburn, UCLA, and Florida State, they are definitely in shark-infested waters. Any of these other three have the experience and depth to win here, but I feel that on recent form, it has to be UCLA who comes away winning this regional. Their late-season play plus narrowly missing out on the Pac-12 championship gives them momentum that the others lack heading into the tournament.

College Park Regional

This might be the biggest upset that I am going to pick, with the third-seeded UConn being my pick to take this competition. Maryland is coming off of a Big Ten collapse, though the back end of their regular season was strong enough to see them carry the higher seed. Wake Forest is strong with the bat, but their pitchers are giving up high scores. UConn has a more solid pitching staff and have shown that they are unshakeable, but bouncing back off a season-final loss to win the Big East championship.

Statesboro Regional

While Georgia Southern has an impressive track record, and had a good outing in the Sun Belt tournament, the Fighting Irish have taken down bigger fish during the season and I feel that they will upset the ranking to take this regional as well. Texas Tech have had their successes during the season as well, but coming into this tournament, they are coming off an abysmal Big 12 tournament showing, while Notre Dame’s ACC tournament carried a bit more momentum.